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Axis order of battle for the invasion of Yugoslavia
'' documentary series|alt=graphic map overlay showing the German thrusts into Yugoslavia]] The invasion of Yugoslavia commenced on 6 April 1941. It was spearheaded by the German 2nd Army, with elements of the 12th Army, a panzer group and an independent panzer corps combined with overwhelming Luftwaffe support. The 19 German divisions included five panzer divisions, two motorised infantry divisions and two mountain divisions. The German force also included three well-equipped independent motorised infantry regiments and was supported by over 750 aircraft. The Italian 2nd Army and 9th Army committed a total of 22 divisions and 666 aircraft to the operation. The Hungarian 3rd Army also participated in the invasion, with support available from over 500 aircraft. German German Army and Waffen-SS 2nd Army The German 2nd Army was commanded by Generaloberst (General) Maximilian von Weichs, and consisted of one panzer, one mountain, and two infantry corps, and was assembled in southwestern Hungary and southeastern Austria. The LII Infantry Corps suffered significant delays in deploying to its assembly area and was initially held in reserve. The 2nd Army comprised: 12th Army The German 12th Army was commanded by Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Wilhelm List, and consisted of one mountain, one infantry and one panzer corps. Most of the 12th Army was deployed along the Bulgarian-Greek border in preparation for the invasion of Greece, and of the corps commanded by List, only General der Panzertruppe (Lieutenant General) Georg Stumme's XL Panzer Corps was committed to the invasion of Yugoslavia. For the first phase of the invasion of Yugoslavia, List also commanded the First Panzer Group. The XL Panzer Corps comprised: First Panzer Group The German First Panzer Group was commanded by Generaloberst Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, and consisted of one infantry and one panzer corps, which assembled northwest of Sofia, Bulgaria. While it was subordinated to the First Panzer Group, the XI Infantry Corps did not participate in the invasion of Yugoslavia. The XIV Panzer Corps comprised: XLI Panzer Corps The German XLI Panzer Corps was commanded by General der Panzertruppe (Lieutenant General) Georg-Hans Reinhardt, and was an independent command that assembled near Timisoara, in western Romania. It comprised: Commanders German Air Force The German Air Force ( ) operated out of bases in Austria, Romania and Bulgaria during the invasion of Yugoslavia. In total, the Germans had over 750 aircraft available to support the invasion of Yugoslavia, more than half of which were positioned in Bulgaria to support the simultaneous invasion of Greece. In total, the Germans fielded 257 fighter aircraft, 56 heavy fighters, more than 300 dive bombers, 95 light bombers, 26 medium bombers and 23 reconnaissance aircraft. In addition, a reconnaissance squadron equipped with Henschel Hs 126 two-seater reconnaissance aircraft was attached to most of the corps headquarters and every panzer division of the German ground forces. 4th Air Fleet The Luftwaffe 4th Air Fleet ( IV) was commanded by General der Flieger (Lieutenant General) Alexander Löhr, and had its headquarters in Vienna, and direct command units based on airfields in western Austria. These units included one squadron ( ) of the 121st Reconnaissance Group ( 121), the entire 51st Bomber Wing ( 51, KG 51), and four bomber groups ( ) drawn from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Bomber Wings (KG 2, KG 3 and KG 4). In total, the 4th Air Fleet had 25 medium bombers, 95 light bombers, 38 dive bombers and six reconnaissance aircraft available in Austria to support the invasion of Yugoslavia. Air Command Graz Air Command Graz ( ) was commanded by Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) Karl Christ, commander of the 3rd Dive Bomber Wing ( 3, StG 3). It was located in Graz, Austria, and consisted of the headquarters and II Group of StG 3, the headquarters and II Group ( ) of the 54th Fighter Wing ( 54, JG 54) (less one squadron), and I Group of the 27th Fighter Wing (JG 27). In total, Air Command Graz had 54 fighters, 1 medium bomber and 35 dive bombers available to support the invasion of Yugoslavia. Air Command Arad Air Command Arad ( ) was commanded by Oberstleutnant Clemens Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid, commander of the 77th Dive Bomber Wing (StG 77). With its headquarters in Arad, Romania, it consisted of the headquarters, I and III Groups of StG 77, headquarters, II and III Groups of the 77th Fighter Wing (JG 77), III Group of JG 27, and I Group of the 26th Heavy Fighter Wing ( 26, ZG 26). In total, Air Command Arad had 77 fighters, 31 heavy fighters and 68 dive bombers available to support the invasion of Yugoslavia. Its units were: VIII Air Corps The VIII Air Corps ( VIII) was commanded by General der Flieger Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, who had operational control of all air operations. With its headquarters in Gorna Dzhumaya, it was based at various airfields in western Bulgaria, and consisted of one squadron of the 11th Reconnaissance Group, the headquarters, I and II Groups of the 2nd Dive Bomber Wing (StG 2), I Group of StG 3, the headquarters, II and III Groups of the 27th Fighter Wing, a fighter group and a ground attack group from the 1st Demonstration Wing ( 1, LG 1), and a reinforced dive bomber group from the 2nd Demonstration Wing. In total, the VIII Air Corps had 126 fighters, 25 heavy fighters, more than 160 dive bombers and 17 reconnaissance aircraft available to support the invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece. Its units were: X Air Corps The 10th Air Corps ( X) was based in Sicily, and consisted of four bomber groups, one heavy fighter group and one fighter squadron with a total of 168 aircraft. It was available to provide on-call support to the 4th Air Fleet as required. Commanders Italian Royal Italian Army The Italian 2nd Army and 9th Army committed a total of 22 divisions to the operation. 2nd Army The Italian 2nd Army ( ) was commanded by Generale designato d’Armata (acting General) Vittorio Ambrosio, and consisted of one fast ( ) corps, one motorised corps and three infantry corps, and was assembled in northeastern Italy. It comprised: 9th Army The elements of the Italian 9th Army ( ) that were involved in the campaign were commanded by Generale d’Armata (General) Alessandro Pirzio Biroli, and consisted of two infantry corps and some sector troops assembled in northern Albania. It comprised: Royal Italian Air Force The Royal Italian Air Force ( ) operated out of bases in southeastern and northeastern Italy and Albania during the invasion of Yugoslavia. In total, the Italians had 666 aircraft available to support the invasion, 229 of which were positioned in Albania to also support the German invasion of Greece. These aircraft comprised 318 fighter aircraft, 40 dive bombers, 178 medium bombers, 12 floatplane naval bombers and 118 reconnaissance aircraft. 2nd Air Fleet The headquarters of the 2nd Air Fleet ( ) was at Padua, in northeastern Italy. It comprised two fighter wings, two bomber groups and three reconnaissance groups. In total, the 2nd Air Fleet had 91 fighters, 29 medium bombers and 49 reconnaissance aircraft available to support the invasion of Yugoslavia. The 2nd Air Fleet comprised: 4th Air Fleet The headquarters of the 4th Air Fleet ( ) was at Bari, in southern Italy. It comprised two fighter groups, four bomber wings, one combined bomber and naval bomber wing, three bomber groups and one dive bomber group. In total, the 4th Air Fleet had 87 fighters, 20 dive bombers, 149 medium bombers and 12 naval bombers available to support the invasion of Yugoslavia. The 4th Air Fleet comprised: Air Command Albania Air Command Albania ( ) comprised five fighter groups, one dive bomber group equipped with German Junkers Ju 87B Stuka aircraft, and eight reconnaissance squadrons. In total, the Italians had 140 fighters, 20 dive bombers and 69 reconnaissance aircraft available in Albania to support the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece. Air Command Albania comprised: Aircraft types Royal Italian Navy Three destroyers of the Royal Italian Navy ( ) were deployed into the Adriatic in direct support of the invasion, and other units were tasked to suppress the Royal Yugoslav Navy. Hungarian Royal Hungarian Army The Hungarian Army ( ) committed seven brigades to the invasion force, all drawn from the Mobile, IV or V Corps of Altábornagy (Lieutenant General) Elemér Gorondy-Novák's 3rd Army. The 1st Parachute Battalion was also earmarked for airborne operations, and the I and VII Corps were held in reserve. The Hungarian invasion force was deployed along the Yugoslav border largely between the Danube and the Tisza. The invasion force consisted of: Royal Hungarian Air Force At the commencement of the invasion, the Royal Hungarian Air Force ( , MKHL) had 536 aircraft in its inventory. Six fighter squadrons and three bomber squadrons of the 1st Air Brigade of the MKHL were deployed in the southern areas of Hungary. The MKHL had the following types of aircraft in service at the time of the invasion: The Hungarians also had a small number of locally made Repülőgépgyár Levente II training and liaison aircraft, various German and Italian trainer aircraft, and four Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 paratroop transports. Notes References Books * * * * * * * * * * * Journals and papers * * * * * Web * * * Category:World War II orders of battle Category:Balkans Campaign (World War II)